Paulding County Library Services is organizing a “Friends of Paulding County Libraries” group to assist with such activities as recruiting volunteer labor and fundraising.

The organization will serve as an umbrella group for all four libraries, with a sub group planned for each library, said Cherry Waddell, Paulding County Library coordinator and branch manager of Crossroads Public Library in Acworth.

Once formed, both the Friends group and each library group will have their own leadership, Waddell said.

“It will be made up of people interested in the library,” she said.

Justin Nobles, branch manager of Pauling County Public Library in Dallas, has worked in a library with a Friends organization.

“Friends groups can be our biggest advocates,” he said

A main duty of the group is to help raise funds for the libraries, Waddell said. One of the main tools will be book sales, she said.

Noble said it is better when Friends members talk to residents about the library because residents are more likely to listen to activists who do not work for the library about library services.

While libraries in neighboring counties have Friends groups Paulding libraries have never had their own, Waddell said.

“There was an attempt in the early 1990s, but it was never able to get off the ground,” she said.

The Paulding library system was not sure how to organize such a volunteer support group, which has delayed them from creating one, Waddell said.

There also were disagreements on whether it would be better to have one big group or individual groups. However, because of the process in forming a nonprofit it was decided to have one Friends group, she said.

The system will be hosting community information meetings at each library throughout January to inform residents about the organization, according to a news release about the events.

“We have got some people interested,” said Kendra Winters, branch manager of New Georgia Public Library.

Winters said she believes once the community hears about what the Friends will do, there should be an interest.

The areas each library serves are diverse, and a Friends group can help let the system know what the public needs, said Tina Godsey, children’s specialist at Maude P. Ragsdale Public Library.

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